Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!sun-barr!rutgers!att!cbnews!military From: ab3o+@andrew.cmu.edu (Allan Bourdius) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: Persian Gulf Combat Aircraft--The A-4 Skyhawk Message-ID: <1990Oct10.000344.29709@cbnews.att.com> Date: 10 Oct 90 00:03:44 GMT References: <1990Oct8.030359.11680@cbnews.att.com>, Sender: military-request@att.att.com Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 34 Approved: military@att.att.com From: Allan Bourdius The A-4 Skyhawk was just recently removed from its last active squadron in the US Military. The USMC was the last service to use it. It will be used in the USMCR until the AV-8B and F-18D purchases are complete. It would be very difficult for us to rely on the A-4 for air support considering we own less than 100 of them. All the rest have been sold to other nations and since they are first line combat aircraft for them, I doubt they'd give them back. Besides, why get rid of the A-10 in the first place? The A-10 is the only Western aircraft designed from the beginning specifically with the CAS mission as its sole purpose. Even though the A-10's never seen actual combat, it has destroyed more tanks (M-47/M-48 Targets) than any other weapon system in history. So what if it's ugly, so what if it's slow; it's the best aircraft for the mission. Allan [mod.note: Claiming to have destroyed more tanks than any other weapon system in history is a pretty tall claim. I'm sure the Ju 87 Stuka, 8.8cm FlAK 18/36/37, and PzKw IV could all make strong claims on that title, as well. Can someone supply numbers to substantiate this ? - Bill ] ----------------------------------------------------------------- MIDN 3/C (PLCJR) Allan Bourdius, Carnegie Mellon University NROTC "Retreat hell! We just got here!" ab3o+@andrew.cmu.edu The opinons expressed in this letter/posting do not, nor are in any way intended to, represent the official policies and positions of the Department of Defense, the Department of the Navy, the United States Marine Corps or the United States Navy; so there!